July 13
6 miles
It's a 6 mile road walk into town. Technically this is still the PCT, but it's a full 7 miles of paved road. It's weird. And walking on pavement is not nearly as fun or comfortable.
MG waits for me in the morning so that we can walk together and have someone to talk to. This makes the time pass a little faster.
About a mile and half from the RV park that we are all headed to (to watch the game) a car starts coming down the road and I stick my thumb out. It feels almost natural by now. A girl pulls over and picks us up, telling us she's a river guide a few miles from here. It's a short ride, but cuts out a half hour or so of walking on increasingly hot pavement.
Next to the RV park is the post office and a small cafe. This is the entirety of Seiad Valley. We find the boys in the cafe, everyone high on the idea of a real breakfast. We order large, and I have he best pancakes of my life.
We head to the RV park afterwards for a $3 day use fee that includes a shower, covered hiker area, and electricity to charge our phones. After showers we head into the office area, where the manager let's out big crew watch the soccer game. In the air conditioning. Oh, the sweet life!
We get rowdy, and it's fun to be in a big group of hikers, some of whom I've met before and some new, enjoying something as simple as a soccer game.
The rest of the day we hang out on the grass, and I convince MG and Shredder to stay the night instead of walking in the heat back to the trail, since I have to await until tomorrow to get my mail, anyway. We set up our gear cowboy style on the lawn, play a game of hearts with Borealis, listen to the guys sing and play guitar, and I count myself lucky once again. The bugs force us into tents, but it's finally cool and another hiker gives me some Unisom, so I am ready for a great night of sleep.
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